Carved In Rock || ATLA

Someone You Loved

Zuko Alone Continued

"Now the day bleeds into nightfall, and you're not here to get me through it all. I let my guard down and then you pulled the rug, I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved." - Lewis Capaldi

🌊 🏔 🔥 🌪

"Mom." A girl's voice groaned, instantly irritating Zuko. Azula only ever used that tone when she wanted something and whatever his sister wanted she always got. The Prince glanced past his friend to see his little sister in the courtyard by the palace fountain with her friends Ty Lee and Mai close by. Why did he have the feeling she was about to ruin his day? "Can you make Zuko play with us? We need equal teams to play a game!"

There it was. "No way! I am not cartwheeling." He said, knowing that's exactly what they had been doing just moments ago.

"You won't have to." The Princess rolled her eyes. "Cart wheeling's not a game, dum-dum."

"I don't care." The boy huffed, his hand reaching out for Aelita. "I don't want to play with you. Aelita and I already have plans."

"I'm sure LiLi here wouldn't mind sharing you with your sister for just a while, after all, she'll be dealing with you forever." Azula teased. "Maybe she needs a break. Besides, I know just how much Mai has missed you."

"Azula!" Her quiet friend hissed, her and the eldest Princes' cheeks turning a shade of pink.

"We are brother and sister." Azula ignored the other girl's embarrassment. "It's important for us to spend time together! Don't you think so, Mom?"

"Yes, darling, I think it's a good idea to play with your sister. Why don't you all play together." Ursa offered, desperate for her children to actually spend time together the way normal children did. "Zetzu and Aelita both would keep your teams equal."

"Mom," Zetzu whispered a dim plea, reaching out for her with a slightly trembling hand.

"It'll be okay," Ursa murmured, crouching down so only he and the nearby Aelita could hear. "Every choice that I make is the one that I think we'll be best for you. This will be good for you. Just trust me. You and I are a team, aren't we?"

Before the younger Prince could say otherwise his sister was already seizing the opportunity while she had it. 

"That's a great idea, Mother," Azula said behind an almost genuine smile. She hadn't even had a plan in mind when she first saw her brothers, she just knew bothering Zuko was one of her favorite past times. Now she had a chance to torment all three. The Princess watched as her mother affectionately ruffled her son's hair in a way she never dared with her daughter.

"Just for a little while," Ursa whispered to the boys. She turned and winked at the silver-haired girl her oldest still was desperately clinging to. "Don't let anyone burn the palace down for me, will you?"

"Of course not Your Grace." Aelita nodded politely. If she was anything but perfect she knew she could count on Azula to make sure every member of the royal family would know. The last thing her father needed was her to embarrass him, the war was more than enough stress already.

"I knew I can always count on you." Ursa winked and gave her future daughter-in-law a cheeky grin before she left the children in the yard. Azula told herself she wasn't jealous of the relationship Aelita had with her mother that she didn't, but it was a losing battle. No matter, it was her time to have some fun.

"You two." She said to Mai and Zetzu as she grabbed their hands, pulling them in front of the fountain. "Stand here." She then turned to the apple tree on the edge of the yard and plucked two large red fruits from its low-lying branches. She put an apple on each Mai and her quietest brother's heads. "Here's the way it goes." She ran back and stood several yards from them, standing directly in front of Zetzu. "Now what you do is, try to knock the apple off the other person's head, like this."